Being homeschooled is a great experience, and can give you opportunities that you never would have had attending a public or even private high school. When you are getting ready to graduate, and looking toward college, how do you narrow down all the different school options? It can be a little more difficult, because you don’t have the benefits of getting exposed to college recruiters who stop by and let you know what their schools are like. This means that you have to be diligent in checking out schools on your own, and finding out what current students think about them. And in the midst of all this research, I’m sure you’ll run into the problem of finances.

College is expensive no matter where you’re considering going, and there are a plethora of ways to pay for it. From grants to scholarships to Grandma and Grandpa, the possibilities are endless. One of the most common methods that students use to pay for college is by taking out loans, and this seems like an easy way to put off thinking about the bills until later. But unfortunately, when the bills do come, you might start regretting your decision, and by then it’s too late. However, right now it’s NOT too late and you have the opportunity to find out just how detrimental student loans can be.

Over the past few decades, college tuitions have climbed much faster than the rate of inflation and the growth of household income, with the difference being made up by loans taken on by students who assumed they’d have no trouble paying it off after graduation. Now 37 million people are carrying around debt that they incurred in college. The cost of even just going to a regular state university can no longer be recouped by a minimum wage job. In our current economy, many students who graduate from college can’t find any job at all. Young people need to consider whether it’s worth investing in a four-year college program. It’s never too soon to start making your own financial plan.

To avoid becoming a victim of student loan debt, learn more about it with this helpful infographic from Consolidated Credit.